The living room, or setting room as the realtor called it, was her favorite room in the house.She’d noticed yesterday that none of the rooms on any floor had a television in them.But this one was filled with books.Books of all kinds, too, she’d noticed.When she was finished for the day, she was going to find her a good one and sit in the oversized chair and read.There was a library, too, that she loved, but the one big overstuffed chair that was in the setting room seemed to call to her.
Her dad, Roger Richardson, had won the house in a case settlement deal.The other man had owed him just over two million dollars in a scam that her dad had been on the wrong end of.The courts decided that since the man had used the money to build the house that her father should have it while the man was in prison.When the house was given to her dad, he had put it in her mom’s name immediately, hoping to convince her and Katie to come live in it with him.But he’d gotten sick, and no one knew how to contact the new owner of the home.So it had been sitting empty for all this time.
Katie didn’t know all the fine details.Getting as much as she did from Mr.Gloom had been hard enough.He was a funny little man, but he wasn’t great with details.She hoped that his partners knew what a helpful and wonderful man he was.Just as she was leaving the library, her front door rang.
“I had hoped that I’d catch you here.On Monday, a gentleman is going to come by and look at the house.I told him it had a pool, and he seemed really excited.”The pool was covered right now, but it did look like it was as big as her condo.She went out to the yard to have a look around with Mr.Gloom.“He said when his wife comes along, he had a feeling that she was going to love the pool.”
“I wouldn’t blame her at all.I’d love to have a pool all of my own.This one is warmed in the winter, I read, and it would be lovely to be able to swim year-round.”Mr.Gloom, his name didn’t suit him at all, said that he’d love to be able to use the pool for all kinds of projects.Like having water year-round would be nice.“I’d swim first thing in the morning and right before bed.I doubt that I’d get tiredof it ever.And the garden out here just screams beauty.I could sit out here for hours and never get tired of the view.Whoever takes care of the gardens here has done a wonderful job.”
“I’ve had a hand in them some.Not as much as I usually would, but I’ve helped some.”She thought him odd.How would he have a hand in the flowers if he’d only just found out about the place?She didn’t know, but he was too proud of the fact that the flowers were in good shape not to believe him.“You’ll get to see the flowers in the spring next year.”
“I wish.They’ll be someone else’s treasures next spring.Not to mention the pool.”She watched as the breeze made the pretty little flowers sway back and forth, and she wanted to pick a few for the house.But she wouldn’t.Getting used to having flowers in the house would only make it harder for her to leave when the time came.“You need one for your coat.Pick one that goes with your suit.”
His suit today was paisley.Brown and orange.His tie was a bright blue that was neon if she didn’t miss her bet.The man had had a different suit on every time she met him, and they were brightly colored like his ties were.Never did they match, but they were colorful.Paisley seemed to be his favorite with all the colorful designs.She wondered what his partners said when he came into work dressed like he was daily.
He told her that he couldn’t pick just one because they were all so beautiful.That if he did, he’d make the other flowers jealous.She could see him thinking that.The next time she got to work with flowers, she was going to see if she could plant some of the kinds that were in this garden.They seemed to be flowers that she’d never seen before.
After he left her, dropping off her copy of the will, she made her way to the library to read a book.She’d already decided to have dinner delivered to her place and was excited about having a hot meal in her home.It would only be her home for a few more days, or at least until she sold it, but she could pretend that it was something that she was going to be living in for the rest of her life.
The man in her dreams would be someone who would be strong.She was strong, too, but she wanted someone to be able to take her to task when she messed up.She didn’t plan on doing that much, but she didn’t just want a husband who would give her whatever she wanted when she asked for it, like this house.
For as much as she wanted to keep it, the upkeep, even with the monthly check, would run her dry, with working several jobs to keep it.Even with a strong partner, it would mean that they’d both have to be working all the time to keep up with it.She wanted someone who would say that to her and not kill them both in staying in a house that she could ill afford.Not that she thought there was a man out there for her.She’d seen too many things ending up in divorce before the landscaping was even done, before she would believe in true love.
After dinner and clean up, she decided to uncover the pool.It was only the push of a button to have it uncovered, and it didn’t take long at all before she could see the water.However, nothing could have prepared her for the beauty of it.
On the bottom of the pool floor was the most beautiful faerie that she’d ever seen.And the colors were brilliant against the sunset around the yard.She slipped into the water and swam to the other end of the Olympic-sized pool and back again.The water was the perfect temperature, and she loved it.
Swimming for at least another hour, her legs and arms were rubbery.She’d had to sit down in one of the lounge chairs so as not to fall, and she had to laugh at herself.She’d overdone it for sure, but loved every second of it.Just as she was feeling her strength come back, she made her way up to the third floor for bed.Tonight she was going to sleep well, or know the reason why.She was beyond exhausted and felt like it was a good kind of exhaustion.No stress, just tired from working all evening.
The bed was better than she thought it would be.snuggling up under the covers, she closed her eyes.She thought about the house and how much fun she was having in it, and wondered how hard it was going to be for her to leave.It wasn’t going to be easy, that was for sure.The house was feeling like it was hers from the very start, and she was going to be sad to see it go to someone else.At least she had this time with it, she told herself, and decided that it was going to be for the best.The house should have been something that she had shared with her mom and dad; even if they were divorced,they’d been friends, and that would have given her more memories to remember.
Waking up the next morning, she didn’t have any trouble remembering where she was.The mansion.She even liked the name of it.Richardson Mansion was going to be something that she remembered for a long time.Getting out of the shower, she decided to go for another swim.But almost as soon as she got into the water, she realized how sore she was just from yesterday.
Determined to swim her laps, Katie enjoyed her morning in the pool more than she had last night.Getting out and then getting dressed, she made herself some breakfast and ate it in the big kitchen.It would be warm, this room, when there was cooking going on, and she would bake cookies when the cook was off.Smiling to herself, she realized that she could write herself a fantasy about the house that would keep her warm in the winter months that she was back in her cold condo.
It wasn’t really cold, but she didn’t spend much time in the place.It was a place to crash between jobs, and she’d always thought that was enough.Now that she’d been given some money, she was going to redo her condo and make it fun.She didn’t know how much fun she could make it, but she was going to do it even if she had to spend the entire five grand a month on the upkeep of it.The first thing she was going to do was plant some flowers around the front door.She’d gotten used to seeing them around, and she wanted to see more of them.
Tinkering around the house, she discovered that each of the bedrooms was filled out with everything it would need to have someone sleeping in it right away.They were in different colors, and she found that she loved the yellow room the best.The big four-poster bed was something that she’d had as a kid when her parents were still living together, and she had had such dreams in the bed.There was a canopy in one of the other rooms that she fell in love with as well.
Going out for lunch, she decided that she was going to pick up her dinner as well.There were no staples in the house, so she couldn’t have cooked if she wanted to.Baking cookies sounded good, but she’d have to buy everything that she needed to cook them, and what was she supposed to do with the leftovers?Not that she couldn’t afford it, but it would be just a waste of time for just one person.Instead, she picked up a box of them to have as her dessert after dinner.She was just checking out when she noticed someone new in town.
The Smith’s had been around for a while now, but the woman with one of them was new.She has a look of happiness on her face, and she could tell that the couple was in love.They didn’t see anyone else but themselves in the store, and she thought that was cute.Checking out with her cookies, she also picked up a magazine on houses for sale, just to see if she was going to be asking too much for her home, and went to her car.Mr.Gloom was helping her with the sale of the house as well.
She was going to miss the little man and his suits.She’d have no use for an attorney after the sale of the house, and she wasn’t happy about that.As soon as she was in the house with her food, she sat down and had her lunch.She wasn’t sure why, but she wondered if Mr.Gloom had a first name that was cheerier than his last.It didn’t suit him at all as he seemed to be in the best of humor all the time.She was even getting used to him having glitter on his person, too.Sometimes, after seeing him, she’d check to see if she had any glitter on her, and sadly, she never found any.She would have saved it to remember him when she was down.
~*~
Rance was finished with his work early and decided that he was going to take Kimber out to dinner.He wasn’t hungry; they’d been having sex sometimes twice a day since they’d come together, but he’d eat something with her.They’d not been out on a proper date since he’d met her, and he was going to take care of that tonight.He called her.It was sometimes easier than trying to find her in the big house.
“I don’t have any plans, no.I was just going to read up on some of the things that are in your library.I was thinking too that since I have the time and money, I might go back to college and finish up my degree.I think that I’d like that a great deal.”He told her she was brilliant.“I don’t know about that.I used to have to struggle when I was studying before.It might have been because I was working several jobs while going to school, but I did try.”
“What would you like to do?You do know that you can have several college educations.I knowthat I do.At one time in my life, I’ve been about everything.Recently, I was a stockbroker so that I could make sure my money was being handled well.We have a great deal of it, but I didn’t want to come up at the end of my life and wonder where it all went.”
“I worry about money too.I know you said that I didn’t have to, but I do.I guess it’s from growing up poor all the time.I don’t think that my parents ever had any extra money for anything, much less a vacation.”He told her that they should take a trip.“I’d love that.I’ve never been out of the state of Ohio.Not once.”
“We’ll have to get you a passport then.And travel to places that I’ve not been in decades.Some of the more famous places were nothing more than small run-down places that wouldn’t have warranted a sign, much less all the hoopla that is going on about it now.”She asked him if he’d been to Paris.“Yes, well, before it was anything more than a dirty town.I love watching the things grow around it.”
“I’ve never been anywhere worth mentioning.Since I’ve only been in Ohio all my life, I have seen the sights around here.Nothing much to look at, but that’s what I’ve been to.”He said that they’d have to remedy that.“I hope so.That would be so much fun to see the world with you.I know that I’ll probably bore you to tears, but I don’t care.I want to see it and have my passport stamped several times.”
